eScape Software has recently expanded it’s software support program to include out-hours support (including weekends and public holidays) as well as full 24/7 cover.

Our support cover is based on two models – we can provide a dedicated engineer or team or pre-paid support hours for systems that require intermittent support.

Our rapid response online support centre is designed to support complex environments that involve on-the-fly development or code fixing to get systems back up and running properly. We provide fully qualified software developers who can fix applications in live situations and emergencies and can react quickly or can put in place new systems for testing and replacement in more controlled scenarios.

Fast, Flexible and comprehensive support for real time environments

Supported Platforms

We can provide support for Web Systems, Applications, Databases and Websites. We have engineers and developers who are proficient in Microsoft .net technologies (including asp, asp.net and asp.net 2, VB and VB.net, C# and C++) and PHP/MySQL.

Our support can be provided directly to Web Servers hosting web applications on the internet or over the internet using Remote control Software (VNC, pcAnywhere , RDP, Terminal Services and Citrix).

We can support Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) and MSDE/Express (2000 – 2005), Oracle, Access, Postgres and MySQL.

Pre-paid Support Hours

For software systems that require intermittent support where there is no need to keep staff on a constant retainer, pre-paid support hours offer a cost-effect flexible solution. Staff are trained on the system (usually by undertaking a enhancement or upgrading work on it) are then put on stand-by. We offer two SLA (Service Level Agreement) response times, 8-hour and 4-hour. These response rates indicate the number of hours before an engineer is available to work on the problem.

Out of hours, weekend and bank holiday hours are also available.

Support hour SLA types:

• 8-hour Standard (9am-5pm; Monday-Friday)
• 8-hour Weekender Plus (9am – 5pm; Saturday and Sunday )
• 8-hour Anytime
• 4-hour Standard
• 4-hour Weekender Plus
• 4-hour Anytime

A support package would normally comprise of a number of different SLA types to meet the demands of users. Established, well designed systems for companies running during normal office hours may select 90 8-hour standard hours with 10 4-hours for emergency situations.

New systems that have recently gone live or systems with a high number of bugs will require more hours to be purchased up front.

Ticket Logging System

eScape has an online portal for logging tickets. A ticket represents an issue and the hours used in resolving it or providing a workaround. Where an issue would consume more than 2 hours, a workaround is put in a place (where possible) and the resolution, which may require a re-development or alternative solution is presented back to the client as a project at standard rates.

The Ticket Portal works much like a Trouble Ticket System as used by many IT Departments. Users can raise tickets, close them and view the status of open tickets. An available and used hours balance is also shown.

Lead Times

Before taking on a system, we would either ask for time to review it (proportionate to the size and complexity of the project) or to undertake a series of upgrades and/or enhancements. By working on the system, we can gain a better understanding of how it works, how it was coded and note any points of failure that may stand out. We can also document the system, providing user and technical documents.